good morning. breaking news. 26 passengers injured in turbulence during a continental airlines flight. the crew forced to make an emergency landing in miami just moments ago. closure. the remains of navy captain michael "sco" speicher are found in iraq, a moment of sadness and relief 18 years in the making.

heading to court over michael jackson's money and who controls it, going before a judge today and his mother is said to be gearing up for a fight. this as a british newspaper publishes what they say is a photo of the bedroom where michael jackson died "today," photo of the bedroom where michael jackson died "today," monday, august 3rd, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a monday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm meredith vieira. this morning we are told 168 people were on-board continental flight 128 when it hit turbulence. >> that flight originated out of rio de janeiro, brazil. it was headed to houston, texas when it made an emergency landing in miami. claudia de campo from wtvj in miami has the latest.

claudia, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. we know that 168 people, including the crew, were here on-board. what happened was that there was turbulence and 26 passengers were injured. now 22 of those passengers are in stable condition. four others are in serious condition. this flight arrived here at 5:45 this morning, it made an emergency landing, and now these people on the plane that were injured were taken by emergency vehicle to the local hospital and we're waiting to hear what other information there is. but we know that it was continental airlines flight 128 from rio de janeiro to houston. but it made an emergency landing here. now we know that these people that were taken to the hospital, 22 again, are in stable condition, and four serious. we understand that those were all passengers and none of the crew members were injured. but of course, this is a developing story and we'll have more information later on.

from miami international airport, back to you. >> claudia, let me ask you just one question. the reason for this emergency landing, because of those serious injuries, or do you know if there was any concern for the integrity of the aircraft as well after that turbulence? >> reporter: i understand that it was basically for treatment. so these people might be treated because four were seriously injured. i have not heard from anyone here anything other than it was for the injuries. and those people are suffering mainly from bumps and bruises and neck pain, back pain, that kind of thing that happens during turbulence. >> okay. claudia, thank you very much. we appreciate it. we'll bring in robert hager who covered aviation for nbc news for decades. bob, good morning. >> good morning. one thing i'm thinking right away, when the flight attendants

come on and say we're encountering turbulence, don't be in the aisles, pay attention. >> why is it planes can suddenly experience this kind of turbulence out of nowhere? >> i think don't know exactly the flight plan of this plane, from rio to houston suggested they might be over some ocean meaning they might be off post where the radar doesn't reach out as far and where you wouldn't get the nuances of weather front development as detailed as you would if it were over land. so it could be that the radar wasn't that sharp on saying just where there was severe turbulence. otherwise, just the fact that weather can be fickle and you don't always know what you're getting into. there are certain on-board air systems that look out ahead and are supposed to be able to warn you but sometimes it is almost unavoidable, you run into really severe stuff. >> when the pilot says when you get on-board keep your safety belt fastened at all times,

that's probably the best advice. 7:04. now to the discovery of remains in iraq. it brings an 18-year search for captain michael scott speicher to an end. nbc's ron mott is at the veterans memorial wall in the family's hometown of jacksonville, florida. ron, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. the family and the community have waited nearly two decades to find out what happened to the fighter pilot. while this is certainly not the resolution they hoped and prayed for all these years, it does offer a sense of comfort and closure knowing that the search is finally over. for 18 1/2 years, it was one of the military's most perplexing mysteries -- whatever happened to captain scott speicher? a navy pilot whose plane was shot down in the skies over iraq on the first night of the gulf war. >> as of 0900 this morning washington time, there's been a single american aircraft lost. >> reporter: this weekend his fate became known. after first declaring the 33-year-old killed in action, the pentagon eventually changed

his status to missing and captured. pressed by his family to keep looking for him. earlier this year, speicher was reclassified again simply as missing. the government said new information from an iraqi citizen led them to the remains which were buried in the desert where his f-18 hornet fighter crashed. this weekend in his hometown of jacksonville, a mix of sadness and relief. >> you might recall that the family fought very hard to keep this file open, saying that it could be resolved this year, we just needed the initiative and desire to do so. >> reporter: over the years, the search for scott speicher led investigators through a maze of clues and criticism that more wasn't done to find him. in 1995, the military told speicher's family his remains were found. an iraqi citizen claimed he drove him to baghdad a month

after desert storm began but it wasn't until 2003 that the pentagon could check for itself. >> when a pilot goes out in harm's way, that pilot knows for sure that if he has to eject, that there's a search and rescue mission that's coming after him. and sadly, that did not occur in the case of scott speicher. >> reporter: senator john mccain, a decorated vietnam war p.o.w. became a voice in washington to keep the search for spoo for speicher. he wrote on his facebook page, good bless an american hero. captain scott speicher's name has been etched on the memorial for some time but finally after all these years he's able to come down, undoubtedly to a paulen hero's welcome. >> ron mott, thank you very much. president obama released a statement saying he hopes the recovery of captain speicher's remains will bring the family a

needed sense of closure. cindy, good morning to you. you're the spokesperson for the family. is that what this has meant? for all these 18 years they've held out hope that he would still be found alive. can you describe their emotions upon receiving this news? >> overwhelming sadness is of course the first emotion that comes to people when you're searching for a loved one who you believe is alive and who turns out not to be. so i would have to describe it in that manner. they're also an appreciative family of the efforts that have come together from senator nelson, from senator pat roberts, the jacksonville firefighters and even ross perot who worked behind the scenes with us with his assets to get this done. it has been a community push and we're proud. >> cindy, even though his

remains have been found, there are still being unanswered questions. i think the biggest one for the speicher family is how did he die, did he die as a result of being shot down or was he captured, taken into custody and killed later. has the pentagon said anything to the family after examining the remains that might shed light on that? >> not directly. now we've heard from other sources that there is a discussion that he died in the crash. he didn't die in the crash. dead men don't eject. so captain speicher ejected from the plane, he was on the ground. the question is for how long. this area has been searched in 1995. it had been searched in 1996. we had searched it separately. we have to do our own investigation, we'll do it in cooperation with the navy, and then at that point we will have a final end to this story. >> and after 18 years, are plans in the works now for a proper

burial for captain speicher? >> yes, sir. he will be given, of course, the proper military burial and his family will be addressing that in a separate press statement. >> cindy, thanks for your time this morning and our condolences to the speicher family. >> thank you very much. nine minutes after the hour. now to iran where three american hikers are being detained after crossing the border from the kurdistan region of iraq. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in istanbul, turkey with the very latest. richard, what do we know at this point? >> reporter: good morning, meredith. iranian television reported this morning that there are suspicions that the americans are linked to the american cia. however, an iranian official said at this stage no conclusions have been drawn. it was in these mountains in kurdistan where three americans

went hiking last week, before, according to iranian media, they strayed over the border into iran and were arrested. kurdish officials confirmed their identities as shane bauer, sara shord and josh fattal, on a trip reportedly to learn more about the middle east. bauer is a freelance journalist and photographer living in and specializing on the arab world. his website describes him as a fluent arabic speaker, a graduate of uc berkeley in 2007 with a degree in arabic and peace and conflict studies. bauer's facebook page says he is in a relationship with sara shord, the only woman in the group, also an aspiring journalist. on her website, she describes herself as a teacher, writer and activist living in the middle east. josh fattal, the third member of the group, said he was also looking forward to traveling to iraq and kurdistan. apparently of arabic origin, fattal in his last posting on

facebook wednesday said he was getting in touch with his roots between the tigress and euphrates valleys. fattal's mother from pennsylvania issued a statement saying my husband and i are only concerned with the health and welfare of josh, shane and sara. residents of the neighborhood also expressed concern and support. >> nobody really knows the true story but it is scary and upsetting and i think more than anything, the hard part is that not being able to communicate with the people that are detaining them. >> reporter: the u.s. state department this weekend said we have been in touch with, and are assisting, family members of the missing three americans. the americans' detention follows weeks of protests against president ahmadinejad's election. today iran's supreme leader formally endorsed president ahmadinejad. it is the start of his

inauguration process. let us get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories. ann's at news desk. good morning. good morning, everybody. also in the news this morning, two of the president's top economic advisors said on sunday taxes may have to rise for the middle class to help cut the deficit and pay for overhauling health care. savannah guthrie joins us with me. the president's to focus this week on the economy. >> reporter: the president and his aides were out in force this weekend talking up signs of recent improvement in the economy but also cautioning that unemployment, that most stubborn part of this recession, isn't likely to get better for at least another year. we expect another report this week. as you mentioned, the treasury secretary refused to rule out a middle class tax cut. at the same time aides here say the president has no intention of doing that. he's going to travel to elkhart, indiana again this week, a town very hard hit by the recession, with double-digit unemployment. he wants to show that focus on the economy. also continuing to fight for

health care and congress is about to go out of session. that fight moves out of washington, into congressmen's home districts and certainly on to the airways. a bombing in afghanistan this morning killed at least ten people and wounded a district police chief who was the target of the attack. the taliban has claimed responsibility. a separate bombing killed three u.s. troops on sunday. tens of thousands of people turned out today in the philippines to pay tribute to former president corazan aquino, known for leading a people's revolt, she died of cancer over the weekend at the age of 76. olympic gold medalist michael phelps wrapped up the world championships on sunday with five gold medals, including the 400 meter medley relay which the u.s. won in record time. officials in turkey are trying to figure out why a building demolition went wrong over the weekend. instead of imploding, look at that -- the building just fell, then rolled over.

aye-yi-yi! narrowly missing an apartment. the remarkable thing is that no one was hurt. >> the remarkable thing is how well that building was built! >> i'm not going down, baby. >> that's construction. >> can you imagine that? wow. >> imagine the person in the balcony in the apartment next door? >> here it comes. >> that's not good. i thought you placed the explosives. >> no, you did. >> fortunately nobody got hurt. >> it was bad weather wise this weekend. >> saturday in the northeast, spectacular.

should >> and that's your latest weather. now to the wildly popular cash for clunkers program. it's proved so successful it helped the first monthly sales increase in nearly two years. now the program is about to run through its first billion dollars and the white house said it will suspend if the senate does not approve an additional $2 billion. jim cramer's host of cnbc's ""mad money.""

>> this will put people to work. therefore at this point in the economy, money well spent. >> when you talk about priorities, the priority is auto sales over the federal deficit? >> if you can put a beleaguered company, group, any of these companies to work -- talking about ford, gm, chrysler, it is terrific. yes, i think it is worth adding this on to the budget deficit. it's stimulating the economy for real. >> a lot of administration folks were making the rounds yesterday on the sunday talk shows talking about how the stimulus program is working. can they take credit for what some see as an economic rebound? >> no. it hasn't gone through yet. there's still a lot of stimulus that's hung up. i think there are two reasons why we have a rebound. we do have a rebound. one is china, their stimulus has worked, they're the big engine of the world. the second is the federal reserve which has kept rates low and done a remarkable job. >> you've been a critic of ben bernanke in the past but you think he's doing the right thing. how so? >> in the last, i'd say, nine months this man has changed everything. he realized the deficit of what

was a garden variety depression, flooded the country with money an made sure that we were confident that our banks were not going to go under. he's done an amazing job. it is a full turn. he is the guy i would say has saved the u.s. economy. >> when the president says we are at the beginning of the end of the recession, you agree with that? >> yes, he's absolutely right, things have changed. they were going to be less worse, now they're getting better. part of this is because autos are better. you can't dismiss this kind of program. there is a feel-good aspect and we're in a psychological decline. it could reverse it. >> in the month ahead what are indicators you'll look at to see if this will stick? >> same as the president. you have to see unemployment numbers stop going up. people are still firing in order to be able to improve their bottom line. i don't see this improving for the next six to eight months but there is a lot that's good. housing has stabilizing. autos could stabilize. these are two huge engines of the economy. >> jim cramer, as always, thank you very much. 7:18.

here's matt. now to the latest in the michael jackson case. after several delays, this morning the jacksons go to court. on the table, the custody deal and the singer's huge estate as well. nbc's jeff rossen is at the courthouse in los angeles. jeff, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. as we've been reporting there is a custody deal in place so the judge can just push that right through today. in fact that's exactly what's expected to happen. but the big battle here today in court could be over jackson's estate. all of michael's money and his mother is gearing up for a fight. over the weekend, a jackson family dinner in hollywood. >> mama jackson, you believe in the conspiracy how michael jackson died, that it was a murder? >> reporter: michael's mother, katherine, out with joe jackson and their son, randy, who was asked about the investigation. >> i can't talk about that. you guys know i can't. >> reporter: at 79 years old, katherine needed help finding the curb. in the custody deal up for court

approval today, she's the permanent guardian of her three grandchildren, prince, paris and blanket. debbie rowe gets visitation. while katherine's quiet for tmz's cameras, she spoke out last night on fox news channel. >> all i know is that my son is dead and i don't think he just died of natural causes or whatever. he's too young for that. but something happened. i don't know what it was and i can't say. >> reporter: now she's on the offensive in court papers saying the executors of michael's will are keeping her in the dark. a source close to the family tells nbc news katherine is now considering a lawsuit against concert promoter aeg for deeming michael healthy enough for 50 shows. today's court battle will focus on michael's money and who controls it. >> katherine jackson's the beneficiary of the will. she's going to say she wants more power but i don't believe the judge will give it to her. >> reporter: depending who you ask, jackson's estate is worth anywhere from $500 million to $2

billion. with new income still pouring in from his stake in the sony/atv music catalog which includes the beatles, john mayer and taylor swift. >> there is a lot of money paid every single quarter, reliably so, that would have fixed michael jackson quite well for the future. >> reporter: a future that was cut short inside jackson's rented mansion in l.a. in the london tabloid news of the world, a snapshot it claims is jackson's bedroom taken just a day after he died. the coroner won't confirm or deny it's authentic. investigators are still poring through several medical records from several doctors, boxes and boxes full of them. dr. conrad murray remains the target and focus of this criminal investigation, but it may be a while before we figure out exactly what killed michael jackson. toxicology results, matt, have been delayed indefinitely. >> jeff rossen in los angeles this morning, thank you very much. still ahead -- dr. nancy snyderman will be live inside an

operating room while a patient receives propofol. that's the drug that may have factored into michael jackson's death. find out more about that. but first, this is "toto

just ahead, the woman police in florida are accusing of staging an accident she didn't cause. and ryan ekneel and his troubled relationships with his kids after your local news.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. here is a look at one of our top stories. a hearing will be held tonight in baltimore county discuss the future of speed cameras. police say they are ready for

the additions. under state law, the cameras can only be placed in school zones. via letters were received a $40 ticket. police say that if the cameras are approved, there will create a 30-day period of warning before tickets are issued. >> thankfully, we are a lot lighter than normal. not dealing with a volume- related delays. hillside road is shut down in the area of greenspring ave. that is due to a downed tree. a fire location has closures along with the point boulevard, in the dundalk region. dry times, very good shape out there. 11 minutes on the west side of i-95 south of 895 split the fort mchenry. normally we see heavy sap and delays here, but not doing too bad there. we still have this accident

northbound blocking the ramp to 543. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> a few clouds around this morning, but it will be overtaken by the sunshine. temperatures are 74 downtown, 72 at the airport. the was 70's on the eastern shore. surging to the upper 80s in central maryland. slightest chance, 10% to 20%, of isolated thunderstorm with the heating of the day. >> be sure to check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information. our next live update coming your way at 7:55. ♪ ooh, yeah wiggle your day with jell-o sugar-free gelatin.

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morning, august 3rd, 2009. we are happy that so many smiling faces got up early to be with us out on the plaza. we'll join them in just a little bit. inside studio 1a, i'm meredith vieira along with matt lauer. a woman caught in an alleged police coverup. >> a strange story. dash cam video surfaced last week of an incident back

february. now on the tape you can actually hear members of the hollywood, florida police department discussing how to blame a car accident on a woman that they hit. that woman is with us exclusively. we'll hear from her in just a couple of minutes. also ahead, the inside story of the powerful and, at times, turbulent relationship between farrah fawcett and ryan o'neal. he poke to vani"vanity fair" magazine. let's begin with that fender-bender in florida and the alleged coverup that could cost at least four police officers their jobs. nbc's mark potter is in hollywood, florida this morning. mark, good morning to you. >> reporter: here at the hollywood police department the chief says the officers involved in that incident are all under investigation after recording technology, which usually helps the police, in this case actually helped the accused. in an odd twist of events, this

23-year-old was invited to the hollywood, florida police department to give a statement against the very same officers who had arrested her months before. >> what we have here are a bunch of officers conspiring to manufacture evidence to create a crime. >> reporter: last february she was arrested on dui charges after she stepped on her brakes and was rear-ended by a hollywood police car. she said she stopped because a cat she was carrying had jumped out of her window. >> the car was moving when this occurred? >> yes. >> reporter: after handcuffing her and putting her in the police car, several officers are next heard on their own dash camera microphone using that same cat story to try to shift blame for the auto accident away from the officer who, because he hit her from behind, could be ticketed. >> i don't want to make things up ever, at all. but if i need to bebd it a

little bit to protect a cop -- >> reporter: at first officers came up with the story that the cat distracted the officer. >> literally a cat jumped out the window, at which time he thought could have been a pedestrian? by distracted him? >> reporter: later officers talk about filing a report blaming the woman for quickly changing lanes. >> as far as i'm concerned, i'm going to word it she was in the left-hand lane, that she -- when the cat jumped out, she abruptly cut over into this lane and slammed on the brakes. >> reporter: on friday, the hollywood police chief announced that three officers and two others have been suspended. all charges against the woman have been dropped and now the officers are under investigation. defense attorneys say in addition to finding that the incident report had been falsified also say they discovered that the videotape sent to prosecutors by those officers had also been edited

and the part about the officers changing their story had been left out. matt? >> mark potter in florida for us this morning, thank you very much. alex torrence-vilas is with us exclusively along with one of her lawyers, mark gold, the founder of the ticket clinic. good morning. this is a little bit complicated. this happened in february. when were you told that this tape existed that has on it what we just heard? >> almost exactly two weeks ago is when my lawyer, larry, and i watched the tape together and discovered that. >> you're sitting there watching this tape together and you're hearing what i'm going to say is this, we're going to blame this on her. how did you feel when you heard this? >> it confirmed everything that i thought. you know? i knew that that's not what happened that night and it just confirmed everything that i was saying from the beginning. >> i want to clarify something. because when we're listening to these officers on that tape make these statements, the video we're seeing right there is of

you sitting there, makes it sound as if or look as though you could hear everything they were saying. you couldn't hear any of this. >> no. i didn't know. no. >> you were not actually in your car when was rear-ended by the police officer. >> exactly. >> when that officer finally came over to you and you were off looking for your cat, what's the first thing you said to that officer? >> can you give me five minutes to go save my cat? >> you didn't say anything about what might have happened that caused the accident. >> didn't even know. >> this is important now. there have been reports that you told the officer that you had been drinking. did you say that to the officer? >> yes. i'm not going to lie. >> did you say how much you'd been drinking? >> i estimated. >> did they give you a breathalyzer test at the scene? >> no, not until i was taken to the station. >> and what were the results of that breathalyzer test? >> matt, i just need to jump in here for a second. what's important to know here is that officer presley, kind of

the ring leader of this entire incident, was the same person that gave her the breath test results and recorded the breath tell the results. >> when it came back you were two times the legal alcohol limit, are you questioning the validity of that test? >> we have to question the validity of this entire incident. the man who suggested he was going to create this walt disney to get officer francisco off the hook was the same then that administered the breath test. >> let me ask you a simple question. do you think based on what had you to drink that night it is possibly you were two times over the legal limit? >> no. >> you don't think so? >> no. >> basically speaking, if the breathalyzer test was accurate, then thee cops in some strange way did you a huge favor because, by their idiocy, they gave you a get out of jail free card. i mean that figuratively. >> only because we found that on the tape. >> because the charges have since been dropped. >> yes, they have. >> do you plan some sort of litigation against these officers? >> we are absolutely looking

into civil litigation. it's a federal offense, violation of the constitutional rights under section 1983. absolutely we're looking into that now. >> monetary damages? >> absolutely. >> how has this impacted you? how do you view law enforcement after this? >> i still have the utmost respect for all of them. you know? just because you have a couple bad apples doesn't mean the whole orchard is rotten. i don't know how that saying goes. but, no. i had planned on returning back to georgetown university this fall and that was delayed because i didn't know if i was convicted would i have to do probation. i can't leave the state. besides the time and the financial stress i had to go through. but more than that, my reputation and -- was, you know, you can't buy that back.

you know? >> alex, we'll follow the case. see what happens to these officers in particular down in florida. thanks for joining us. >> thank you so much. >> mark, thank you. now let's get a check of the weather from mr. roker. >> thanks a lot, matt. beautiful day but,

>> absolutely adorable. today we will be a couple of degrees above normal. going for a high of 89 at b.w.i. marshall. slightest chance for an isolated thunderstorm. >> and you came to new york to celebrate your 80th birthday? >> i certainly did. >> what's your name? >> rose marie. >> thank you very much. you ought to have a doctor look at that. if you want to check your weather any time of the day or night, go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. meredith? >> al, thank you. now to henry louis gates jr., the harvard professor whose

controversial arrest led to a firestorm. "today's" natalie morales is here with the latest. >> after a tumultuous couple of weeks, professor gates is speaking out about the good, the bad and the ugly moments since his controversial arrest and his plans for moving forward. speaking at the martha's vineyard book geft value on sunday, professor henry louis gates jr. joked about his infamous arrest and the subsequent racial firestorm that ensued. >> i just found the analysis yet that explains the riveting fascination with this event in our society. >> reporter: it was gates' first public appearance since thursday's so-called beer summit with president obama and sergeant james crowley. a meeting that gates now says gave him nightmares. >> the night before i went to the white house i dreamed i got arrested in the white house. but it was cool. i was okay. you know? >> reporter: despite gates'

light-hearted tone towards his arrest, it was clear that the incident hasn't been a laughing matter. >> a lot of death threats, lot of bomb threats. i haven't been back to my house since the day i got -- out of jail. >> reporter: with the national debate over race resurfacing since gates' arrest, he says the discussion indicates that america has not yet moved into a post-racial era. >> issues of race and class are profound and deep. >> reporter: gates also spoke of future plans with his former adversary sergeant james crowley. >> i asked him to maybe go to a red sox game together, maybe go to a celtics game together. maybe to have dinner with our families. you know? why not? you know? i offered to get his kids into harvard. if he doesn't arrest me ever again. >> of course, we'll have to see what happens with the gates-crowley friendship but it does look like professor gates wants the incident to be the teachable moment that president obama spoke of a few weeks ago. >> nice he can laugh about it now. >> now, in hindsight.

>> exactly. still ahead, propofol, the drug at the center of michael jackson investigation, and what it does to the human body. we'll into the operating room. ryan o'neal opens up to "vanity fair" about his 30-year romance with farrah fawcett and his very rocky relationship with his children. right after this.

we are back at 7:44. during the 1980s, farrah fawcett and ryan o'neal were a hollywood

power couple. they had fame, fortune and beauty, but they also had their share of troubles. their 30-year romance is detailed in a new article. half of the cover for the september issue features farrah fawcett, the other half features michael jackson. good morning. title of this article, i know you didn't write this, "beautiful people ugly choices." in the article you compare farrah and ryan to angelina and brad, basically they were the angelina and brad of their time but they made some bad choices in life. issues like drug abuse, infidelity and also family feuds. what toll did that take on their relationship? >> well, really, looking at their 30-year relationship, it's a story of family dysfunction on an epic scale. what one of the things that interested me about it was that, yes, they were the brad and angelina of their day, they had a child and didn't get married which was much more uncommon back then than it is now. they were rebels in a lot of

ways. >> ryan referred to them as rebels. >> he says, they didn't want to do what people expected us to do. but on another level, it's sort of the story of every prom queen and high school most popular guy football captain. their problems are sort of quintessentially human problems, the drug addiction of many of ryan's kids, in fact multi-generational problems in his family. >> his mother was addicted to drugs. >> yes. so there's clearly a long-standing problem in his family. and, you know, bad career choices, bad relationship choices, kids turning out angry and having a lot of problems. these are things that most people can relate to. >> talk about the kids. he's very candid with you in discussing his three older children from two separate marriages. when you ask him about griffin, he says i hate him. he calls tatum a bitch. he says about patrick, he's unlikable. he wasn't pulling punches. >> shockingly candid.

i have to say that many of those things were said when he said of griffin "i hate him," it was when i had to go back to ryan and ask him to respond to what griffin said about the fact that he thinks that ryan was only paying respect to farrah in her final weeks and months because he wanted her money. so that was ryan's response to that. >> he actually refers to him as a narcissistic psychopath. >> his father, yes. but ryan is shockingly candid, but he's a very volatile guy. i mean he has had a very truculent attitude, lot of fights with people over the years, and you also have a feeling that if you ask him one day ah÷kykykd= certain question might get the opposite answer the next day. i think that farrah's funeral had a sort of brought the family together, some of the family. he barred griffin from attending, but tatum and patrick from whom he had been estranged

did come to pay their respects to farrah and said kind things about him afterwards. >> the fact that he -- he talks about this in your article. it really speaks to how estranged he is from his kids. tatum was at the funeral, he didn't even recognize her. >> well, it's worse than that actually. he tried to pick her up. he said i was a pallbearer and i had just pushed the casket into the hearse. this beautiful blonde woman came running back to me and threw his arms around me and he launches into his don juan thing, let's run off together. she pulls back and says, daddy, it's me, tatum? he says this to me, it's so sick, i tried to pick up my own daughter. later when i talked to tatum about it, she says that's our relationship in a nutshell. you make of it what you will. >> he seems really sad. i've had the opportunity to talk

to him about redmond and all the in and out of rehab, think 13 times -- >> 14. >> i think he referred to him at one point at a sap. he gets mad at you when you say he's had a terrible life. you sort of roll your eyes. it's one of those moments ryan really goes after you. >> yes. he was saying that redmond had a terrible life and i kind of raised my eyebrows, because clearly redmond also, as a child of two movie stars, both of whom have a lot of money, had a very privileged life. i think people who are struggling these days, many people would say what kind of problems does that kid have? but ryan's response to that was, "you be my kid." i mean it wasn't easy growing up in that family. that family had huge numbers of problems. you know, ryan's first wife had a lot of drug and alcohol problems and he had custody of his kids at a very early age. and it's just been a long saga of, you know, just constant

turmoil. >> you cover an awful lot of it in the pages of this article. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> appreciate it. again the article is in the september issue of "vanity fair." we'll be right back after these messages.

just ahead, we'll go into an o.r. to see pra what propofol, the aen stet that i can may have killed michael jackson, actually does to a patient. what propofol aen stet that i can may have killed michael jackson, actually does to a patient.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. let's check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> a few late developing delays out there. and let's start with bw parkway

southbound at the beltway down to west nursery road. a bit of a delay, but not as bad as we normally see it. live view of traffic on 95, south of 543, accident northbound has now been cleared. nice try to southbound. then you to back down to the 895 split. hillside is still shut down at greenspring. new accident at northern parkway and york. north point and park would road, fire activity to watch for lane closures there. dry times are really not all that bad. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> a few little low-level clouds around the area. for the most part, high-pressure to our west of the ohio valley will build in. sunny skies by this afternoon. the temperature will rise to about 89 or 90 degrees. a typical hot august day.

85 in ocean city. 80 degrees in southern maryland. another dry day, for the most part, tomorrow. 91. 90 on wednesday. . >> be sure to check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information to our next live update in 25 minutes. it's quiet on the home front-- not a lot of activity. you read the news. and yet, some people need to sell and other people want to buy. this is a moment of challenge and opportunity. fortunately, re/max agents have the experience to help you meet the one and recognize the other. thanks. because the future's counting on us.

nobody sells more real estate than re/max.

we are back on a monday morning, the 3rd day of august, 2009. we have kind of a rainy end to the weekend but we're starting the week in great fashion. we have a beautiful, sunny day here in midtown manhattan, and we also have an enormous crowd gathered out here on the plaza. we're looking forward to talking

to some of them. wow. wow. those are pipes, man. testing, one, two, three. ouch. i'm matt lauer, along with meredith vieira and al roker. coming up in this half hour, so much talk since the death of michael jackson about what drugs he may or may not have been taking. one drug has come up repeatedly, that is propofol, a drug he allegedly -- we have to stress that -- used to sleep. well, what is that drug? this morning we'll actually go into an operating room. dr. nancy snyderman is at the hospital for special surgery on the upper east side here of manhattan. nancy, a patient is about to have a procedure done and they're going to use propofol. is that right? >> that's right, matt. this is dr. thomas quinn. i'm at the hospital for special surgery. this woman is scheduled to have her right shoulder operated on. she's allowed us to come in this morning to just demonstrate, show what it is like with

responsible people using powerful anesthetics like propofol. she'll let us show that you in just a few minutes coming up. >> nancy, thank you very much. hospital for special surgery. also ahead, jon and kate's marriage may be over but the show must go on. "jon and kate plus 8" returns. tonight we'll have a preview. jon has turned to lindsey lohan's father. find out what that means. a little bit later on, five ways to a better back side. baby got back. >> okay. you want to share one or two of those? >> no, i'm not. tune in and see. before we go any further, let let's go insed and say hello to ann. good morning, everybody. earlier this morning, frightening moments when strong

turbulence forced a plane to make an emergency landing. kerry sanders is on the scene in miami. kerry, some of the injuries are serious? >> reporter: indeed, ann. four of the passengers were taken directly from the plane when it landed to the main trauma hospital here. those four are listed in serious condition. all told, 158 people -- 168 people on-board this flight. it was continental flight 128 from rio de janeiro heading to houston. it was about 36,000 feet, which is a really high altitude to hit this clear air turbulence. but it was at 36,000 feet, about 60 miles north of the dominican republic when it hit that turbulence and the injuries were rather quick on-board. as you often know, if you fly on these sort of flights, the pilot suggests that if you're not moving about the cabin, to leave your seatbelt on. clear evidence here that that is good advice. the authorities are going to try and figure out what went wrong here today, what went right.

meantime, the passengers who were not injured are still on-board the plane and they're going to continue on to houston. they believe it will be later this morning on the same flight. same plane. ann? >> kerry sanders on this breaking story, thanks so much, kerry. we're also learning more about the three americans who were detained in iran after crossing the border from iraq. they are two men and one woman who were on a hike in iraq's northern kurdistan region reportedly to learn more about the middle east when according to iran's media they strayed across the border into iran. an iraqi official is claiming the three are cia operatives and the state department is now involved. meantime, iran's supreme leader formally approved mahmoud ahmadinejad as president for a second term of iran. despite continuing massive protests i cuesing the government of risking the vote. ahmadinejad is to be sworn in on wednesday. the family of navy pilot michael scott speicher says learning the fate the their loved one 18 years after he disappeared has been difficult.

speicher left behind a wife and two young children when he became the first american casualty of the gulf war. his plane was shot down and his remains were never found until last week when an iraqi led u.s. marines to where he had been buried. the fate of a popular cash for clunkers program is now in the hands of the senate. the president wants to keep it running. last week the house approved another $2 billion to do so. cnbc's phil lebeau is at a ford dealership in lagrange, illinois. phil, i understand dealers are still honoring the rebates. >> reporter: they are, ann. if you're interested in trading a gats guzzs guzzler for a fuel-efficient smaller vehicle, don't wait. only for the next day or two unless the senate approves more money. that's the key. in another $2 billion is allocated, then the program will continue for another month or two. if that doesn't happen, the next day or two will be the end of cash for clunkers.

an alarming new study out this morning find nearly 16 million children, teens and young adults, have low levels of vitamin d. vitamin d deficiency raises bone, heart disease and other ailments. researchers believe it is linked to the fact kids spend more time inside watching tv and drinking more sodas as opposed to going outside in the sun and drinking milk, both excellent sources of vitamin d. 8:05.

>> we are going to see mostly sunny skies by this afternoon. a high of 89 degrees. normal is 87. slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm with the heating of the day. tomorrow, 91. 90 o >> couple of nice groups here. what's your name? >> hanna. >> where you guys from? >> north carolina. >> and in. >> from connecticut. >> nice to see you guys. up next, the drug that

allegedly killed michael jackson. how does propofol work and how fast does it take effect? dr. nancy snyderman steps into the operating room for a live demonstration right after this. there's a big reason to lower high cholesterol... dangerous plaque that can build up in arteries. it's called atherosclerosis--or athero. and high cholesterol is a major factor. but crestor can help slow the buildup of plaque in arteries. go to arterytour.com and take an interactive tour to learn how plaque builds up. and then ask your doctor if crestor is right for you. along with diet, crestor does more than lower

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we're back now at 8:10. this morning on "today's health," the drug that appears to be at the center of the minl investigation, propofol. nbc's chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman is at the hospital for special surgery right here in new york. nancy, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. i'm here with dr. tom quinn, an aen thesologist and the patient of the day, already booked for rotator cuff surgery on her right shoulder today has allowed us to go into the operating room with her. in a few minutes dr. quinn will be putting her to sleep. we'll go through all the monitoring that is necessary when this drug propofol is used in responsible hands. it is the medication that's still swirling around the michael jackson controversy, a medication that he reportedly used as a sleep aid.

it is a drug very few people had heard of until about a month ago. propofol, the generic form of diprivan, is used by aen the anesthesiologists to put patients under for a medical procedure. it is prescription-only and not something you would expect to find in a regular doctor's office. this is propofol, sometimes called the milk of amnesia, it is a powerful sedative and its uses are intended for controlled environments like this operating room. there is no indication for using it anywhere else. that's where suzanne finds herself. she's a 22-year-old professional golfer who had come to the hospital for special surgery in new york city to have a spur removed from her right shoulder. dr. thomas quinn is an attending anesthesiologist and in church of sedating and monitoring her

during surgery. >> may feel a little bit of a burning. >> reporter: propofol is given intervenously. the margin of safety of propofol. >> if you know how to handle an airway and ventilate a patient, the margin of safety is great. but at some point, like most patients with a glass of alcohol on-board, they're going to start to snore and obstruct with enough propofol. then you need someone with some experience to handle animal airway. >> like an anesthesiologist. >> like an anesthesiologist. don't try this at home, nancy. as i start to administer this propofol, it's going to run through an i.v. line. as fast as her cardiac output will circulate that drug she'll become drowsier. take nice, deep breaths through your nose where that oxygen is flowing. you'll see us at the end of the surgery. okay? right now what we're monitoring is the oxygenation so that 99 is her oxygen saturation of her arterial blood.

that 22 is her respiratory rate. okay? i'm holding her chin up a little bit just to support her respiration. >> reporter: propofol is known to markedly suppress respiratory rate. >> i am in constant attendance with them. monitoring alone isn't going to do anything, it is the vigilance of somebody watching it and acting on those numbers. >> reporter: numbers that require years of experience and constant monitoring to interpret correctly and keep the patient safe. i'm here with dr. quinn and stella. it is time to go to sleep so she can have her surgery. dr. quinn, i'll turn it over to you. >> take a couple nice deep breaths through your nose where that oxygen is flowing. i'll start you with some medicines right now. >> the propofol. >> it is. the medication's through that i.v. is going to make you much drouzi brow zier. you may feel a little sting. don't be surprised.

we'll start to get that going. >> what are you feeling? feeling drowsy at all? >> very drowsy. >> very drowsy. very drowsy. >> takes 5, 10, 15 seconds? >> normal circulation time is probably 10, 15 seconds and you're out. >> you have heart rate, oxygen, i can see her respiratory rate gets a lot slower. >> if you pan back and look at these monitors, we have something looking at her respiratory rate right here. you can see those up and down spikes were her respirations. >> she stopped breathing. >> yes. she's been preoxygenating. it's fine and probably will be for several more minutes.

that's the good news. what we're doing now is allowing some co2 to build up in her system and for that to redistribute in her system. there she's going. she's starting to snore. >> you'll pull her chin up like this. >> i know you probably don't snore, but they warned me i might snore at nighttime. people who do snore, snore more than those are aren't getting propofol. >> nancy, i want to jump in with you and the doctor. can this only be used for short surgeries? how long is it safe to keep a patient under using this drug? >> matt, it's really used in two different ways. you can use propofol alone to induce anesthesia but a lot of times it is used with other medications. that's where the trickiness comes in. doctors figure out the dose of propofol based on the body weight of a patient. if you use other medications and miss those medications, you may be more sensitive to the propofol so that margin of safety gets a lot narrower.

and, i want to really drive this home -- this is a medication that is used by nurse aness thattists. anesthesiologists. it is not at at-home medication. if you aren't with a doctor who knows how to take care of an airway, are you in trouble here. >> what's the way the doctor, anesthesiologist, will bring stella out from the under the influence of this? is there something you administer to neutralize? >> dr. quinn, when the surgery is over will the propofol wear off normally or will you give her something to reverse the effects? >> there is no clinically used drug to let her wake up or antagonize propofol. >> you plan the dosage very carefully. >> it wears off so quickly though even after a continuous infusion that over the course of minutes, patients will start to -- she's just reacted to something in the back of her throat there and that something is airway secretions.

so she still has her airway reflexes. we haven't taken them away. that's exactly where we want to be right now for her. >> but you can use this for general anesthesia where you put a tube down someone's throat and for patients like this where she is just getting a block to her right shoulder. >> in that case, we want to make sure that her airway reflexes are still intact. >> you like this because you know she's alert -- >> absolutely. if she's coughing then she cannot aspirate material down her trachea. >> that's important, matt. because if this were in fact the drug implicated in the jackson case and he got so much that he couldn't cough and he couldn't clear his secretions, it's possible that you can choke on your own secretions, or if your respiratory rate is so low and nobody knows how to pull up your chin to open up your airway, you can stop breathing, and then your oxygen and carbon dioxide levels get turned upside down and you can just, frankly, go to sleep and die. >> that's been very educational. by the way, i think stella's

awfully nice and brave to let us eavesdrop on this whole procedure. when she wakes up, nancy, please thank her for us. >> you know what, matt? i said this is the milk of amnesia. i told stella i hope she has total amnesia for being such a sport today. >> but there's videotape anyway. >> but there is videotape. >> nancy, thank you very much. thank you to the doctor as well. we'll be right back after this. it is very rewarding for me to see light bulbs turn on. i want my students to have something that they could apply the next day at work if they have to. for my students, they need to know that i'm there for them;

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i'm only 32 years old. and i really don't know what's going to happen. >> kate coyne has followed the couple since they became reality stars. they're coming back from hiatus. last time we saw them, they announced their separation, divorce pending. >> i think this will be a far less serious episode than the last one we saw. really the elephant in the room has been addressed now. the marriage is over, they have separated, there will be no more "are they going to interview together? will they speak to each other? will they look at each other?" they're not even going to be in the same episodes together. >> they'll never be seen together again? >> i wouldn't say never but for the time being their episodes will not show them in the same place. >> the couch is gone. >> the couch is gone. replaced by the chair. now the chair will be where they each do their interview separately. >> you think the emphasis going forward at least for the next few episodes will be on the children as opposed to on their

relationship? >> in a way it will go back to what the show originally was, which was -- it was never the sort of show where the cameras just rolled 24/7 in the hopes you would catch something interesting. there was always a theme. the kids went to the zoo, the kids went to the park. so it will return to that sort of format in that the kids will go camping and the kids will cook out. they'll only have one parent with them though when that happens. >> there's another elephant in the room, so to speak, jon's new girlfriend, haley glassman. >> well, last i heard she. will she be on the show? >> recently the president of the network tlc says they will take things on a case-by-case basis. certainly jon's recent behavior would indicate there's nobody serious enough in his life she would merit being brought on to the show but if that changes in the future, we'll have to see what happens. >> i thought there was an agreement between jon and kate that they were not going to talk to the media during this hiatus. she has kept that agreement. >> yes, she has. >> he's been out there left and

right with different women and talking to the press. what is that about? >> i think -- i can't speak for jon, but i think that his interpretation of that agreement was that they won't speak about each other. certainly the last time people magazine spoke to jon, he said "i can't talk about kate, we have an agreement." he's interpreting that agreement to mean he won't talk about kate but he'll talk about everything else. >> now we hear he has a new life tile approach, michael lohan, lindsey lohan's estranged father? >> yeah. that's an interesting choice. really, everything that jon has done in the past few weeks has seemed a little bit erratic and certainly very temporary. suddenly he was a clothing designer. now he's michael lohan's best friend. now he's back home in pennsylvania. michael lohan's nowhere to be found. it remains to be seen how many of these new changes will be permanent. >> i think a lot of people are concerned about these eight children who are absolutely adorable and they're innocent through all of this. how are they doing? >> that's will be one of the

nice elements of tonight's show, people will get to see how the kids are doing, they'll see them camping out and doing the sort of things they've always loved to do. they'll get to see what kate certainly has been maintaining for quite some time, which is that they're holding up just fine. >> kate coyne, as always, thank you so much. >> thanks. and the hiatus is off on >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. a boating accident in essex has cost a man his life. baltimore county police say that a man in his 20s was struck by the boat's mortars just after 5:00 p.m. on sunday at bayside drive. investigation continues. let's get a final check of the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> we have a downed tree still

blocking one road in pikesville hillside along greenspring. west on northern parkway, you have a left lane closure at york. nothing major as far as delays ago. fire activity north point at park road and done dock. that has been there for awhile. crofton its is the outer loop west side drive time. -- profits as the out of the west side drive time. you are going to find some place this morning. 395, pretty good shape here. volume is picking up as you make your way towards the ramp to 295. not too bad on the left side of loop. >> sun is out and is warning us up pretty quickly. 74 downtown, 72 at b.w.i. marshall. before it is all over, '89 or '90 in central maryland. slightest chance for isolated thunderstorm.

we are under the presence of high pressure which will dictate the weather patterns. 91 tomorrow. not a good shot of showers. maybe more scattered activity, and and we drop a few degrees on thursday. 84 on friday. >> thank you for joining us. another update in 25 minutes.

8:30 now on this monday morning, august 3rd, 2009. our crowd is enjoying a sunny -- finally -- summer day in our plaza.

we're happy to have them with us. coming up in this half-hour, the revealing photos. posing for the buff in public. the photographer behind this will tell us why and how he got so many young participants. also ahead, one of the big blockbusters of the summer expected to beat g.i. joe, sienna miller talking about making the jump from the indie films to the blockbuster. >> i toll her to give you a hard time. also do you have a sweet tooth? the difficulty is obviously we don't want to eat a lot of sugar. apparently we can make desserts that will be not so bad for us.

>> we are not going to see any of that until late in the afternoon on wednesday. in the meantime, the slightest chance for isolated heating of the day storm. low 90s

>> and that's your latest weather. al, thanks very much. now to the king of pop art, andy warhol of the king of pop. this was created in 1994. good morning. this is called green michael jackson. right? the name of the portrait. >> michael jackson. >> tell us a little bit about it. >> michael jackson was painted in 1984, as you said. it was commissioned by "time" magazine to celebrate and honor the enormous success of "thriller" and michael jackson's achievements. >> at that time he was selling a million copies every week. so this still is the highest ever sold record. and this is the painting to honor that. i think that in here, in this painting, andy warhol shows his love for music, understanding of

the artist and basically -- i think that michael jackson here looks his best ever. >> this is the way people want to see him. >> when you talk about an auction, people are going to want to know what is a painting like this going to go for if you look at the history of auctions with andy warhol paintings, do you have a ballpark as to what you think this will draw? >> some are talking $10 million. it could be more. marilyn sold for $28 million. the highest price painting -- we'll know. august 18th. bidding and registration starts. bidding at www.veredart.com. >> the bidding has already started. >> the bidding has started. >> good luck with it. >> thank you so much.

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we are back at 8:36. actress sienna miller enjoys the indie scene but is now tackle a hollywood blockbuster starring in "g.i. joe." take a look. >> congratulations, duke.

you just saved paris. at least most of it. >> sienna miller, good morning. welcome back. >> thank you. >> i'm trying to imagine the conversation with your agent when he or she comes to you and says, "okay, forget the indie films" this is a blockbuster in the true hollywood tradition. what did you think? >> i realized it was a really big movie but i kind of wanted to do something about pure entertainment and having fun, i got to learn how to fight and fire guns. i think i was quite exhausted about my own choices and i just wanted to do entertainment. >> you said i wanted to do a movie for a change that people would want to see. which is somewhat down playing what you've done in the past. >> i say a lot of things that tongue-in-cheek. it doesn't translate. independent films are what i love watching and making fundamentally, but it's also great to bring something people are genuinely excited to see. >> was it also tongue in cheek

during the first month or so filming "g.i. joe" you just went to your dressing room and cried? >> it was a bit exaggerated. was intimidated. it was a crew of thousands. there was a button on the wall you'd push and something would actually lift up. it was a very different environment. >> is there a downside to it as well? >> no. >> obviously you have everything at your disposal. you pick up the phone and things happen. is there a negative side to it? >> nothing at all. it was just huge. it felt initially intimidating. once i was there i had a great time. >> you wear black leather through most of this movie. >> yeah. >> i don't have a question there. i just wanted to say that. i don't know why. >> yes, i do. >> what was it like to get you in this get-up every day? >> it was quite uncomfortable. >> was it really? >> it was skin tight leather. >> you had a team of people -- >> i had three women kind of involved lying down and shimmying, then hopping up and

down into the trousers. the last act i'm soaking wet and leather doesn't dry overnight. 5:00 a.m., wet weather was really fun. >> tu look at yourself in the black leather and brunette, what did you think about that? >> i laughed. >> you laughed? you like yourself better as a blonde? >> it's fun. it's a really fun role. the outfit was kind of extraordinary. i wore a wig so i got to be blonde at night. >> the thing about a blockbuster, you don't have to promote it. >> they just do one generic an they just send it. >> you've already traveled around the world for this. >> right. >> you're coming to new york to broadway. >> in two weeks. >> talk to me about that. >> it's nerve-racking but it is the most exciting, exciting thing. i'm from england obviously and we have such a huge theater culture there. >> have you done a lot of theater? >> i played in a shakespeare play in london but never here. >> you get no "cut," second

take. what's it going to be like -- >> it is a really depressing thing. i kill myself again. >> you just gave away the ending of the play. >> it is an amazing drama, really incredible play. >> what's it going to be like when you see your name up -- you've got to drive over there, it is just down the block. that's a major event for most actors and actresses when they see it up on broadway. >> yeah. i'm actually going to go after "today." >> you said to somebody you were looking for some new york friends. >> are you offering that? >> i was going to say, we've got a crew, the line hasn't formed here. >> i have lots of new friends. i say a lot. >> that's your answer to everything. i talk a lot. >> i do. i say whatever comes into my head and it doesn't often translate to print. >> last time you were here we joked -- we didn't really joke because it was serious but you were trying to quit smoking. so this time you are still technically trying to quit

smoking? >> have you heard me coughing? >> yeah. >> i won't make a big deal of it. >> it is a tough one. broadway is very demanding vocally. >> i know. you notice how much deeper my voice is. >> it is. >> it is just from talking for two weeks non-stop. >> good luck on broadway. >> thank you. >> good luck with "g.i. joe." >> thank you. >> good luck with everything. >> thanks, matt. >> "gi rose rise of cobra" opens in theaters friday nationwide. why nadya suleman she's made a mistake havinin

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do you remember janet jackson's wardrobe malfunction during the super bowl halftime show? it launched one photographer to laumpbl a seven-year project culminating in a book called

"uncovered," his subjects are average women willing to bear it all. >> reporter: a few years ago this photographer set out to see how his foal low new yorkers would handle it. he enlisted female volunteers of every shape and size to take off their tops around town. all for an art project he calls "uncovered." >> you're going to go right into the center. >> i was so freaked out. there was all these old people. >> there was this whole tab bu issue around women's bodies and the most public way to address that issue would be to photograph it publicly. walk towards me, turn around and then walk back. >> reporter: and so he did and

assumed his display would shock the city. but the biggest shock -- >> people walk by and don't even see it. >> reporter: all right, some lingered. admired the view. >> the other day i was shooting a woman and this guy said "thank you!" thank you. he gave me a big hug." >> you've got to enjoy yourself in life. that's what it's about. >> that's true. >> she's got two lovely numbers. >> reporter: other amateurs were inspired to create a little art of their own. the only hassle came from the men in blue. >> do you have a permit or anything like that? >> no. >> you're not allowed to be here. >> reporter: always polite, jordan comes armed with the documents that prove it is legal. >> yes it is, it's legal. >> the people have offered nothing to justify a law that discriminates against women -- >> reporter: a 1992 ruling in a

rochester court allowed women in new york state to go topless in public. >> as men are routinely permitted to do. >> reporter: some may never exercise that right. but many seem liberated. >> here i am, this is me. ♪ i am woman hear my roar >> y'all go, girl. that's what the hell i'm talking about. where can i sign up? >> reporter: after the subjects -- >> i like that one a lot -- they do it all for free. course, a bit of exposure. >> was that me? i'm not sure anymore. photographer jordan matter is here with us along with one of his proud subjects. remind the audience, this started as a political statement of sorts and turned into something very different. >> absolutely, yeah. it started initially with the janet jackson wardrobe malfunction.

we were fauth to believe this was an extravagant thing that we were all to be ashamed of. i started photographing people in the streets of new york to see the reaction. what happened was, it soon became a liberating experience for the women i was photographing to the point that i hadn't expected that at all. >> it really spoke to them and their own issues with body image. i know in your book "uncovered" you were adamant you include essays written by those women. >> exactly. as an interview. the reason is because my day job is i'm a photographer of actresses and models primarily and usually they're young, skinny and really the very definition of beauty in our society. not a day goes by where one of them doesn't say to me don't shoot my arms because they're too fat or my cheeks look really puffy when i smile. i thought it was really interesting that the women we hold up as like the ideal for physical perfection in our society are not immune to this kind of self-hatred in a way that comes with being a woman in america today. >> libby, you experienced that firsthand when jordan asked you to pose. you had no problem, you lived in this building, you were a runner.

you take the picture, you think it is going to be wonderful. >> absolutely. >> when you saw it, it bothered you. >> when jordan first gave me a print, first thing i saw were these rolls of fat on my hips. i thought, oh, my god, i look terrible and horrible, nobody can see this picture. over time as i looked at it more and more i realized my first reaction was just wrong. i completely internalized what our culture tells us women should look like. and i thought, well, i'm so thankful now that i took part in this project, because it allowed me to -- it was a process but it allowed me to look differently at that and say, no, now when i see the picture, you say that's a strong, healthy beautiful body and i think that it's great. >> did you see that a lot, jordan? you were photographing women of all shapes and sizes, just regular gals out there. >> right. what would happen would be that women would all the time say to me, you know, i don't know if i can do this, i'm terrified. one once they did it, there was this liberation they felt.

i was always the one saying, listen, you want to put your shirt back on? they'd say, no, not yet. let me enjoy this moment for a bit. >> there was one photograph that gave you pause. it is of a 9-year-old girl playing in the fountain with her brother. you had the permission of her mom but you still ago niced over including that photo. >> it was one of the first photos i conceived and it was one of the last ones i took. i'm not naive, i know our society would see a little girl with her shirt off, some might think of it as controversial or obscene. for me i see a little girl and her brother playing in the fountain. it is exactly what i want it to be. what it represents to me is a question of at what point does a girl become a woman and learn that her body's something that needs to be covered up and something she needs to be ashamed of? the only way i can possibly see you would see that as an obscene photo if you were sexualizing her in any way. i thought of it as a joyful and innocent image. >> one of the photos is of your

wife when she was pregnant with your son. >> yeah. >> jordan, thank you so much. again, the book is called "uncovered." for more logon to todayshow.com. we should mention a portion of the proceeds goes to the breast cancer research foundation. we'll be right back. this is "today"

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more of tom brokaw's search for american character along highway 50. tom's latest stop, the outskirts of cincinnati, ohio. >> reporter: it's been called the backbone of america. one highway that cuts through the heart of a changing nation. and at every crossroad, a news story. u.s. highway 50 heading west from the eastern shore of maryland. we're going to take this road all the way to california in search of the american character. >> you can't really get anywhere in this town if you're not going to take route 50. >> reporter: mile 642 on the outskirts of cincinnati, ohio. ♪ >> reporter: to these three musicians, route 50 is more than just a road they grew up on. it is a song that just might pave the way to their future. >> i wrote "there's a road route 50."

>> reporter: they call their style old-time depression music. they say the dreams and struggles americans face today echo that earlier time. >> some people are saying old-time music is the new punk. ♪ >> reporter: times are tougher than usual. jason, the base player, works as a machinist at an auto parts plant. >> you hear thousands of gm employees being cut from their jobs, so it's always there. >> reporter: mike is raising chickens and growing his own food. >> there's a lot to be learned by the way that people once lived and how they did things themselves. >> reporter: why do you think your generation wants to come and hear your music? >> it seems like younger people are real conscious of living sustainably and are living with our music trying to live more

simply. back to basics. >> reporter: in times such as this, the music for the tillers is what it has been, and will always be, for all of us -- one way to lift our spirits. >> whatever angst you have that day, the music takes it away. >> reporter: pick up a banjo and it helps. huh? >> yeah, that's definitely the one thing that does help. >> reporter: i feel better already. 642 miles down, 2,431 to go. >> it's funny they call it depression music because you feel better when you hear it. >> we like the music. >> with 2,431 miles to go, he's never going to see his wife meredith. getting back to highway 50 here for a second, it is nice to

stop in different parts along >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. a police officer is on the desk duty today and a team of medics and investigation after a police-involved shooting over the weekend. responding to a burglary call saturday at the 4700 block of garrison boulevard, and officers shot it suspect in the head after police say the attacker rushed the officer with a screwdriver. half an hour later, that declaration of death proved a little premature. >> after being observed removing or taking a breath or sire something, they return to the location and treated the victim and took it to a nearby hospital. >> the suspect i

>> let's look to the forecast with sandra shaw. >> first monday of august, and we will have the typical high of 89 degrees today. no risk of severe weather that we saw over the weekend. we will be partly cloudy to mostly sunny. on the shores of ocean city, nice sea breeze. we will surge to 91 tomorrow. slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm. better chance of scattered showers and storms as different moves through on wednesday. >> thank